Xbox 360 hacked some more

Generally hacks aren't hugely significant until proof of concept exploits are actually coded and seen working, and only two days later, hacking entrepreneurs have already established a working 'Hello World' program.

This first proof of concept software utilises the shader hole found in the King Kong game sometime ago, of which the INQ has reported on several times in Monday morning weekly gameing round-ups.

This isn't a hack the average user can easily attempt.

It'll require the King Kong game, a modified DVD firmware (widely used to allow back-up ISOs to run on the 360), and also will require users to connect the serial port of the Xbox 360, compile the code from sources and most important of all will need users to have kernel 4532 or 4548 (most of whom are probably already updated to the patched 4552 kernel).

Microsoft was told of the hole sometime ago, and thus the latest kernels are patched to remove this exploit.

People have speculated that Microsoft have probably blown an eFuse in the custom IBM CPU which will probably ensure older kernels can't be utilised, as the previous attempts to code a kernel downgrader won't work with a kernel of 4552 or higher.

Although a lot of specific requirements are needed for the exploit to work, this will undoubtedly lead to further exploits and an increase in hacking attempts.

We wouldn't be surprised if someone finds a way to downgrade the kernel on a whim (again), despite the usage of eFuses, allowing people to run the unsigned code at any point of their choosing - similar to the efforts on Sony's PSP. µ

See also
Wii DVD playback enabled by chip
Signs of an Xbox 360 price-drop spotted
Find a PS3 and receive $1200 from Sony
Not many PS3s heading for Europe